AIIMS director proposes PPP model in public healthcare

AIIMS Director MC Misra today pitched for public-private partnership (PPP) model to finance healthcare projects in India which, according to him, suffer from "inadequate funding."

"We have to contribute for it. There is no healthcare that can be provided to 130 crore people free-of-cost. Everyone is looking for healthcare without having to pay for it," Mishra said at an ASSOCHAM conference on 'Health security for all'. "Expectations of people from public healthcare are huge. However, it is possible only if everyone pays and the number of patients is less," he added.

Misra claimed healthcare is still a dormant feature in government's policies with a meagre 4.7% of the GDP committed to it. "State governments have not fulfilled their commitments. Health has never been a poll plank of any political party. Health is not a priority for our citizens. (At the government level) health is still listed under the concurrent list," he alleged.